“After the Malaysian plane’s crash I have no intention to return to Ukraine,” the 26-year-old footballer was quoted as saying.

“The situation there is currently abnormal. I decided to stay in Buenos Aires.”

Ukrainian Football Federation (FFU) is maintaining the start of the national championship for July 25 despite the troubles in the east of the country heightened by the apparent shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines jet on Thursday.

“The entire country mourns over the tragedy that happened. It’s terrible,” an FFU spokesman Pavel Ternovoi said. “But it will not influence the national championship kick off. We insist that football should stay out of politics.”